Health Leads (formerly Project HEALTH) is a national non-profit with the goal that one day, all doctors will be able to prescribe solutions that improve health, not just manage disease. The diagnosis and treatment of non-medical, but health-critical, conditions should be a standard part of patient care. In clinics where our Health Leads program operates, physicians can “prescribe” food, housing, health insurance, job training, fuel assistance, or other resources for their patients as routinely as they do medication. Located in waiting rooms and staffed by college volunteers, our Health Leads volunteers “fill” these prescriptions by connecting patients with key resources. Health Leads’ straightforward, preventative referrals to government and community resources – such as affordable housing, child care, employment, GED classes, and job training – enable families to avert crises and to access increased income and education, which have been documented to result in better long-term health outcomes. Health Leads‘ 22 desks are located in pediatric outpatient, adolescent, and prenatal clinics, newborn nurseries, pediatric emergency rooms, health department clinics, and federally qualified health centers. Last year we reached nearly 6,000 families.
